Police say robbery may have motivated double murder

Police in Florida believe robbery may have been the motive behind the double murder of Toronto snowbirds Donny Pichosky and Rochelle Wise on Jan. 9.

Wise’s wedding ring, valued at about $16,000, is missing. She was known to wear it all the time, Capt. Sonia Quinones of Hallandale Beach Police told CBS Miami.

Police Chief Dwayne Flournoy said in the same newscast that a robbery motive is the leading theory, but not the only one.

Detectives are appealing to pawn shop owners and jewelry exchange businesses to review their inventory and notify them if they have a ring like Wise’s, which is approximately size 6-1/2, in a platinum finish, with five half-carat white diamonds on top in a half-moon shape.

As well, the ring may be engraved with the letters “DCC” inside the band, and it has a locking mechanism at the base to allow it to open and close to fit over a knuckle.

The police are also still trying to identify a woman who appeared outside the couple’s Venetian Park condominium townhouse on a neighbour’s surveillance video the day they were murdered. The video shows the woman carrying an item and walking to the rear of the house, then walking back to the front/side area of the house empty-handed.

The footage can be seen on the police website, cohb.org.

Wise, 66, was a retired preschool administrator at Bialik Hebrew Day School and a founding director of Crestwood Valley Day Camp.

Pichosky, 71, her husband of four years, was a retired businessman who volunteered with seniors at Baycrest and had spent at least 20 years wintering in Florida.

The couple was found dead in their townhouse after failing to show up for a lunch date and not answering repeated phone calls. They died of asphyxiation, and there were at least two perpetrators, police revealed last month.

Crime Stoppers is publicizing a $51,000 (US) reward for information leading to an arrest in the case. The bulk of the reward – up to $50,000 – is being offered by anonymous donors. A reward poster specifies that Crime Stoppers does “not want your name, just your information.”

Anyone with information about the homicide, the ring, or the identity of the woman in the video, is urged to call Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS (8477) or 1-866-493-TIPS (8477), or Det. Lane Sauls at 954-457-1438, or to go to www.browardcrimestoppers.org.